


They're My Family

by AKnightOfAGoodKing



Series: The Distance of Time | Birds of a Feather [1]
Category: Yu-Gi-Oh! - All Media Types, Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's
Genre: Best Friends, Childhood Friends, Family Fluff, Friendship/Love, Genderfluid Character, Kid Fic, Other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-03
Updated: 2021-02-03
Packaged: 2021-03-13 00:42:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,089
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29019909
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AKnightOfAGoodKing/pseuds/AKnightOfAGoodKing
Summary: It takes a year to figure things out. Crow cries because she's a baby. ("I'm NOT a baby!") Everything is alright.[DO NOT REPOST/REUSE MY WORK(S) WITHOUT MY ACKNOWLEDGEMENT AND PERMISSION]
Relationships: Jack Atlas & Fudou Yuusei & Crow Hogan, Jack Atlas/Fudou Yuusei/Crow Hogan
Series: The Distance of Time | Birds of a Feather [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1983496





	They're My Family

**Author's Note:**

> Context: my 5D's Crow is he/him afab, but didn't get around to using those pronouns until he was, like, ten. In this fic, Crow's eight hence the use of she/her. ^^

It started with a simple question, a bit dumb but a lot curious really because truthfully, Yūsei was a lot closer to Jack and Crow than anyone else in the orphanage, except for maybe Martha but every kid here was close to her. They were all her children after all. 

But the way Yūsei, Jack, and Crow were close was kind of different than that. Martha accepted everyone because she wanted to out of the kindness of her heart. The three of them, however, were much more picky, at least in the other kids' eyes. Yūsei, Jack, and Crow took care of the younger ones because it was their duty as the some of the oldest at the orphanage, and Crow especially didn't mind looking after the smaller boys and girls, just as she didn't mind doing chores and helping Martha in any way. And she, Jack, and Yūsei played with the other kids their age all the time too, and they were the best duelists in the orphanage, often competing against each other too. 

That being said, Jack always shared his cup ramen with Yūsei and Crow first. And Yūsei never told anyone but Jack and Crow about the secret places he'd found closeby. Crow never let anyone but Jack and Yūsei carry her. ("I'm _not_ a baby!") 

So, yeah, you can say the three of them were pretty close; it was just that Yūsei never thought about it much before.

"So, Yūsei, why are you, Jack, and Crow so close? You and Jack are popular with the girls, but they're not going to get near you with Crow around you like that."

Yūsei blinked, looking upwards to the sky in thought. He shrugged. "I never thought about that," he replied to his friend, a boy named Ken. They were sitting on the edge of the sandbox. "They're my best friends, and the closest things I'd consider to be my brother and sister. They're _my_ family." 

That took both of the boys by surprised. Usually, brothers and sisters meant they were blood-related, and though they all shared a foster mother, it didn't make them family automatically. Some kids had a harder time getting used to that idea, and a few just couldn't. It was almost a miracle that Yūsei actually found people he could open his heart to. People he wanted to be in his life forever and ever. 

Ken kicked the dirt at his feet. "You're pretty lucky, Yūsei," he said. "One day, I'll find someone to call my family too, just like you." 

That was pretty much a congratulations for some sorts.

A few hours later, after lunch, Yūsei pulled Jack and Crow into their room because he had to tell them. Unlike the other rooms in the orphanage, their room was the smallest, barely big enough for the three of them, but that was the reason why they even had a room with just the three of them. With the three of them in there, there was more space in the bigger rooms. 

When they asked Martha to have it for themselves, she was a bit hesitant, but they promised to be good and were extra good for the next couple of weeks to away her. She relented, seeing how much they really wanted that too. They could only bring in a twin sized mattress, the only thing they had, and a creaky bed frame, but it was enough, especially with enough pillows and blankets for three people. It became a sort of fort whenever they wanted, pressed up the corner of their room, and Yūsei dragged Crow and Jack into it in the middle of the day. 

"What do you have to tell us that you couldn't outside?" Jack asked, sitting on the edge of the bed.

Crow crawled onto the mattress and then hugged a pillow. She looked so small, and Jack snorted. Crow heard that and stuck out her tongue, which got her a sound of disgust. She laughed. "Yeah, Yūsei," she said, "whatcha got to tell us? Is it who ate the last raisin cookie?"

"Nobody cares about that."

"I do. That was supposed to be mine." Crow pouted with a huff. 

Yūsei shook his head, ending an argument before it even started, and he tapped his foot on the floor where he stood. They were always like that, and it hadn't gotten better since they moved into this room. "It's something else," he told them. "Something really important."

"Then spill it, Yūsei! The suspense is killing me!"

"It's only been two seconds, be more patient."

"Don't tell me what to do, Jack." 

"Hey, be quiet! I'm trying to talk!" 

Jack and Crow stopped, sitting up straight. It wasn't often that Yūsei yelled, relatively to the either of them, so they guessed he really did have something important to say. Yūsei didn't waste time then to tell them what happened this morning.

Moments later, because the story was quick to tell, Jack had a thoughtful look on his face while Crow tilted her head in question, maybe even a little unsure. 

"You think of me and Jack as your family, Yūsei?" she asked carefully. 

Yūsei nodded without a second thought. "I do," he replied. "I really do, you two are my best friends. I can't think of anyone else I'd want to be my family." 

Crow turned to Jack, leaning onto her hands and knees. "What about you, Jack?" she asked, no, demanded. "Do you feel the same way?" 

Jack burrowed his brow a little. "My brother and sister," he repeated, and be looked between Crow and Yūsei. Then he huffed, a bit of smile on his lips. "Yeah, you're like that to me too. There's nobody else I'd want to be my family but you two and Martha." 

"Really? You're not saying that to copy Yūsei, are you?" 

"I don't _copy_ people, that's unflattering. Why are you being so persistent about it? You and Yūsei are my family, and that's that. Happy?"

Jack rolled this eyes, a bit annoyed, but Crow didn't say anything. Instead, tears just started falling from her eyes and streaking down her cheeks. That got the boys in a panic because Crow didn't cry, she was tough even when she fell and hit her face. This only happened, like, once a year.

Jack moved closer, and Yūsei climbed onto the bed. 

"Hey, why are you crying?" Jack said, wiping Crow's face with the sleeve of his jacket rather roughly. "You're like a baby, crying for no reason all of the sudden."

Crow whined in protest, scrunching up her face. She was still crying, though she was trying to hold back. She was clinging onto her pillow tightly. 

"Maybe you don't want to be our family?" Yūsei suggested slowly. He was frowning, but he guessed he understand.

Maybe she was waiting for her actual family to come for her, there were a bunch of kids who were like that. They still had hope, even when everyone had pretty much moved on. He and Jack were way past that though, but if anyone could get found, it would definitely be Crow. At least Yūsei hoped. 

But Crow was shaking her head, hiccuping on a sob. She pushed Jack's hand away from her face, her cheeks left pink from his "help". Yūsei took over, wiping her tears a lot of gentler too. 

Jack sighed, and he pulled a cover over Crow's shoulders and pulled her onto his lap. She was like a cat sometimes, needing to be coddled and wrapped up to feel safe. "Speak up already," he said, patting her head. Honestly, it was starting to freak him out, but he couldn't do anything until Crow started talking. Or else they might get in trouble. "What are you crying about?"

Crow managed to take a deep inhale, hiccuping a few more times. Yūsei pulled back a bit, noticing that her tears weren't as many as before. 

"I'm just _really_ happy," she finally said, another floodgate opening suddenly.

Jack frowned, dabbing her face this time around. How can someone so small cry so much? Yūsei took her by the hand, rubbing at her skin comfortingly. 

"Crying because you're happy?" Jack repeated. "That doesn't make much sense, you weirdo."

"Jack," Yūsei chided, giving him a warning look. "Just give her a second, will you?" Had it been anyone else, Yūsei would've bit their head off; Jack was lucky he was Jack. 

The blond scoffed, not liking being told off, but he kept his mouth shut, wrapping his arms around Crow. He let out a big sigh, there was so much responsibility being the older one. Having a no better idea, Yūsei started kissing her cheeks, remembering how when Martha did it, it always made Crow laugh so much that she stopped crying quicker. 

It worked because it was almost immediately that Yūsei started hearing his friend laugh. It was working, Crow calming down to sniffles, and Jack looked relieved, patting Yūsei's head in reward. It gained him a small smile. 

"So what are you so happy about?" Jack asked, mindful of his tone this time. 

Crow sniffled a few more times, wiping her nose with the back of her arm. Then she smiled, eyes red and swollen. "You want to be my family," she finally answered, leaning back against Jack. "I never had a family before, not one I remember. It just used to be very lonely, but the day I met you guys, I forgot all about how that felt."

She paused, putting her hands to her mouth, and she laughed. "I love you," she confessed almost shyly. "There's no one else in the world I'd want to be a family with than you two, forever and ever."

That caught Jack and Yūsei by surprise, by everything Crow said. _I love you. Forever and ever._ That was the first time they ever said that between the three of them, and it made the boys blush. It was embarrassing and out of the blue, but it was heartfelt and Crow would never lie about something like this. She wanted to be their family just as much they wanted to be hers. 

Jack cleared his throat, ignoring how warm his face was. He held out his pinkie. "Forever and ever," he heard himself saying. "You, me, Yūsei, we're family now, and there's no going back on this, okay?"

"Okay!" Crow shouted, hooking her own pinkie with Jack's. "Yūsei, Yūsei, you do it too!" 

Yūsei, his mind not yet caught up with the current moment, automatically said, "Oh, okay," and he added his pinky too. He felt something pulling him, pulling them together.

He didn't notice what he did until he did it, but he was then distracted by a warm feeling in his stomach. It felt like butterflies, and it was swarming where they touched. They all felt it then. 

Without another word, they shook on their gesture three times, and when their fingers separated, for a second, they saw something shimmering like a string. It was red, or maybe pink, but it disappeared in a blink of an eye. Still, despite being unable to see it, the three of them could still feel it, binding them to each other. 

"What was that?" Jack asked, blinking several time in succession. "It wasn't just me who saw that, right?" 

"I don't know," Yūsei replied, staring at his hand. "I've never seen it before. It was pretty."

"Dunno either," Crow added, but she didn't sound so shocked. If anything, she was even happier than she was a minute again because she knew one thing for certain, so she sat up on Jack's lap and pulled her brothers for a hug. 

"I love you!" 

**Extra - "Nii-san"**

"We think we should just be friends," Jack said. 

Crow scowled, face pink. "It sucks," she agreed, shaking her head. "It's not fair _I_ have to call you two that. I'm much more mature than the both of you put together."

Jack scoffed. "You're not. You can't even reach the top of the fridge with a chair."

"That has nothing to do with anything!"

"Don't fight," Yūsei interjected. "You're going to get in trouble with Martha, and that always gets me in trouble. I rather not call you that either, Jack. It's weird. Jack's fine. And just Yūsei is good for me."

"I second that," the oldest said, holding out a finger. "Don't ever call me that again, you hear?" 

"Never again," Crow promised, and they all nodded.

**Author's Note:**

> Check out my YGO Tumblr: [@the-kings-of-games](https://the-kings-of-games.tumblr.com)


End file.
